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The final Super10 match is set to be a classic showdown between the defending champion and a team that has made the semifinals of each ICC World Twenty20 so far

After 12 days and a multitude of matches, some nail-biting and others lop-sided, it has now come down to this. A virtual quarterfinal. A knockout game within the framework of the Super 10 league. Whatever has happened until now will have no bearing, history will count for precious little. Three hours on Tuesday (April 1) night will decide which of Pakistan or the West Indies will go through to the semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 as the second-placed team from Group 2, behind runaway table-topper India.

On paper, there is practically nothing separating the two teams, but professional sport is not played on paper. At the end of the day, it will come down to not just skills and who wants it more badly, but which team can control its nerves, which of them can handle the pressures of a must-win game better.

Pakistan has the more experienced, more versatile, more superior – some might say – bowling attack. The West Indies has the more destructive, more attacking batting line-up, a line-up that has gradually gathered pace and, while not quite firing in tandem, is as close to that one awe-inspiring explosion as is possible. But fanciful as it is to label this a battle between Pakistan’s bowling and West Indies’ batting, it is well worth remembering that the West Indies possesses the top two bowlers, as per the ICC rankings, in Twenty20 International cricket.

For the neutrals, the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium will be the place to be on Tuesday night. Such games with so much hinging on the result seldom throw up a classic, but sometimes, very occasionally, performance can match hype, as evidenced by the thriller on Friday evening when West Indies beat Australia in one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes of this competition.

Since that emotional six-wicket victory in the last over, West Indies has had time to regroup. Darren Sammy and Ottis Gibson, the coach, wouldn’t have had the necessity to impress upon the team the need to approach the Pakistan game with the same intensity as the Australia match. Victory against Australia was required for various reasons; against Pakistan, the supercharged atmosphere will be because of the stakes involved.

In decidedly the most subcontinental of conditions, Pakistan might appear the favourite, but the West Indies isn't the World T20 champion for nothing. Colombo in 2012 was not too different from what Mirpur has been this time, and the West Indies bearded the Sri Lankan lion in its own den in the final then. There has been no great change in personnel since – astonishingly, the influential Kieron Pollard has barely been spoken about in his absence. If anything, the induction into the side of Krishmar Santokie, the little left-arm medium pacer with so much variety, has lent more teeth to an attack heavily dependent for both penetration and parsimony on Sunil Narine, the No. 1 T20I bowler, and Samuel Badree, his understudy.

West Indies will ask serious questions of a Pakistan top order still some way short of hitting peak form. Umar Akmal has had one outstanding innings and Ahmed Shehzad shook off the cobwebs with a brilliant century against Bangladesh on Sunday afternoon, but Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez haven’t quite got going. They can expect no favours from Badree, Narine and Santokie, especially if the West Indies bats first and post meaningful runs on the board, because on the evidence of the India-Australia clash on Sunday night, batting fourth will be anything but easy at the Sher-e-Bangla.

In normal circumstances, the toss could, therefore, turn out to be decisive, but there is very little that is normal when it comes to both Pakistan and West Indies. If you had to nominate two sides to buck every trend and to cock a snook at norm and tradition, you will have to look no further than this dynamic duo. West Indies has a title to defend; Pakistan, the only team to have made the semifinal in each of the four preceding World T20s, has a reputation to maintain.

The presence in the West Indian coaching structure of Saqlain Mushtaq lends another dimension to this showdown. Pakistan’s most successful spinner has been working with the West Indian tweakers for a while now, and the results have been all too apparent even if Narine, Badree and Shane Shillingford, the Test expert, all made their debuts before Saqlain linked up with the West Indian Cricket Board. From all accounts, the offspinner who gave the world the doosra has been working as much on the mind as the skills of the West Indies men. His unique take on matters cricketing can only stand the Narines and Badrees in good stead against batsmen who are as adept as any at handling the turning ball.


“I always tell my spinners that God gave us two eyes, use them,” said Saqlain on match eve. “With one eye, judge your own strength and with the other, look at the weakness of the others. You ask who the best spinners are, the ICC rankings have given the answer -- Narine and Badree. Tomorrow’s match will be won by the team with better self-belief.”

There is no shortage of self-belief in either camp. The heavy artillery is stacked in the West Indian batting, with Chris Gayle close to his wondrous best, but as India showed against a like Australian line-up on Sunday night, too much of anything, even an order replete with fearsome ball-bashers, is no guarantee for tall scores. West Indies will have taken note of the dramatic Australian implosion, but then again, so will have Pakistan. Don’t take your eyes off this one.

People who were divorced had a higher likelihood of any vascular disease, according to study.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Being married makes for a healthy heart, while being divorced or widowed is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, according to a study of 3.5 million people released Friday.
The study is the largest of its kind to show how heart health is linked to marital status, and was presented at the American College of Cardiology conference.
"These findings certainly shouldn t drive people to get married, but it s important to know that decisions regarding who one is with, why, and why not may have important implications for vascular health," said lead author Carlos Alviar, cardiology fellow at New York University Langone Medical Center.
People who were divorced had a higher likelihood of any vascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease when compared to single people, according to the study.
Widowers showed slightly higher odds of any vascular disease and coronary artery disease, also when compared to people who had never been married.
"The study demonstrates that other risk factors, such as smoking and obesity, hypertension, diabetes and being sedentary also increases with being divorced or widowed, said Suzanne Steinbaum, director, women and heart disease, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
"As married people are more likely to help each other stay healthy, by making sure their spouse eats well, exercises, takes medications and helps in attending doctors appointments, married people tend to have less risk for heart disease," added Steinbaum, who was not involved in the study.
Researchers were surprised to see that the health association was strongest in people under age 50.
"The association between marriage and a lower likelihood of vascular disease is stronger among younger subjects, which we didn t anticipate," Alviar said.
In this group, marriage was linked to a 12 percent lower odds of any heart or artery disease.
Among those aged 51 to 60 there were seven percent lower odds of heart disease, and four percent among those 61 and older.
The patients in the study came from a US database of 3.5 million people who paid $100 to be part of a screening program. Participants came from all 50 states from 2003 to 2008.
Since those involved were paid participants, they might not represent the general population, study authors noted.
Also, there were low numbers of minorities included.
And while the study found that marriage made for a healthier heart, one thing the research could not measure was the health of the marriages.
"Of course, it s true that not all marriages are created equal, but we would expect the size of this study population to account for variations in good and bad marriages," Alviar said.
Perhaps further research could shed light on how changing life events impact heart disease, he added.

This was both captains’ second minor over-rate offences within a 12 month period in the same forma


South Africa and Sri Lanka captains Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Chandimal have been suspended for one match each, while their players have been fined, after both sides maintained slow over-rates during their ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 Group 1 encounters at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chittagong on Thursday.

This was both captains’ second minor over-rate offences within a 12 month period in the same format, as South Africa was fined for being two overs short against New Zealand on Monday 24 March 2014, and Sri Lanka was short by one over against New Zealand in Pallekele on 21 November 2013.

A team captain found guilty of two minor over-rate offences in the same format of the game within a period of 12 months receives a one match suspension for the immediately subsequent match in the same format of the game.

In accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel governing minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.

As such, the captains have been fined 20 per cent each of their match fees and their players have received 10 per cent fines.

David Boon of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the suspensions and penalties after both sides were ruled to be one over short of their targets at the end of their matches against the Netherlands and England, respectively, when time allowances were taken into consideration.

Du Plessis pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanctions, so there was no need for a formal hearing. Du Plessis will miss his side’s match against England on 29 March.

Chandimal pleaded not guilty to the offence and, in accordance with the provisions of the Code, a full hearing was held on Friday, with Mr Boon appointed to adjudicate the matter.  Following the hearing, the charge and proposed penalty were upheld by Mr Boon, and Chandimal will miss Sri Lanka’s final Super 10 stage match against New Zealand on 31 March.

The charge against du Plessis was laid by on-field umpires Steve Davis and Bruce Oxenford, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Aleem Dar, while the charge against Chandimal was laid by on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Rod Tucker, third umpire Steve Davis and fourth umpire Bruce Oxenford, all from the ICC Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

On Thursday, South Africa defeated the Netherlands by six runs while Sri Lanka lost to England by six wickets.

Riyadh seems to be reaching out more towards Asia, including China.

RIYADH (AFP) - King Abdullah meets President Barack Obama Friday as mistrust fuelled by differences over Iran and Syria overshadows a decades-long Saudi-US alliance.
Saudi Arabia has strong reservations about attempts by Washington and other major powers to negotiate a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme, and disappointment over Obama s 11th-hour decision last year not to take military action against the Syrian regime over chemical weapons attacks.
Saudi-US relations, dating back seven decades, are "tense due to Washington s stances" on the Middle East, especially Iran, said Saudi analyst Abdel Aziz al-Sagr, who heads the Gulf Research Centre.

The recent rapprochement between Tehran and Washington "must not take place at the expense of relations with Riyadh", Sagr told AFP.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, long wary of Shiite Iran s regional ambitions, views the November deal with Iran as a risky venture that could embolden Tehran.
The interim agreement curbs Iran s controversial nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanctions relief, and is aimed at buying time to negotiate a comprehensive accord.
Sagr said "arming the Syrian opposition will top the agenda" during Obama s visit, his second since his election in 2009.
Analyst Khaled al-Dakhil spoke of "major differences" with Washington, adding that Obama will focus on easing "Saudi fears on Iran and on regional security".
Saudi Arabia, which leads the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, fears that a US withdrawal from the Middle East and a diplomatic overture towards Iran would further feed Tehran s regional ambitions.
Iranian-Saudi rivalry crystallised with the Syrian conflict: Tehran backs President Bashar al-Assad s regime and several GCC states support the rebellion against him.



Obama s stances towards events reshaping the region "have strained (Saudi-US) relations but without causing a complete break," said Anwar Eshki, head of the Jeddah-based Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies.
US security and energy specialist professor Paul Sullivan said Obama meeting King Abdullah could "help clear the air on some misunderstandings".

"However, I would be quite surprised if there were any major policy changes during this visit. This is also partly a reassurance visit," he added.

White House spokesman Jay Carney has said that "whatever differences we may have do not alter the fact that this is a very important and close partnership".

However, Riyadh seems to be reaching out more towards Asia, including China, in an apparent bid to rebalance its international relations.
Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz this month visited China, Pakistan, Japan and India, to reportedly "strengthen ties".
The US-Saudi relationship dates to the end of World War II and was founded on an agreement for Washington to defend the Gulf state in exchange for oil contracts.
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia is the world s top producer and exporter of oil.
Obama and the king are also expected to discuss deadlocked US-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
They will also discuss Egypt, another bone of contention since the 2011 uprising which ousted Hosni Mubarak, a staunch US and Saudi ally.
The kingdom was dismayed by the partial freezing of US aid to Egypt, whose army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July -- a move hailed by Riyadh.
Egypt s Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi resigned as defence minister Thursday after announcing he would stand for president.
Dozens of US lawmakers in a letter to Obama have also urged him to publicly address Saudi Arabia s "systematic human rights violations", including efforts by women activists to challenge its ban on female drivers.

                                                                                     HZY

NEW DELHI: Indian Supreme Court installed former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar as the interim head of India's troubled cricket board Friday in place of the scandal-tainted incumbent N. Srinivasan.

Gavaskar would be made "interim working president" of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the court said, adding that the appointment would place him in overall charge of the upcoming edition of the annual Indian Premier League.
As interim president of BCCI, Gavaskar will exercise all powers concerning IPL.
An apex court bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik said Gavaskar would only be concerned with matters related to the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The apex court also allowed Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the two teams at the centre of investigations into illegal betting and spot-fixing, to play during IPL season 7 and the IPL matches will go on as per schedule.
Gavaskar will decide whether Sundar Raman, CEO of IPL, shall continue or some other person has to be engaged, the Supreme Court said.
The SC on Tuesday had told Srinivasan to step down as the BCCI chief to enable free and fair probe in the betting and spot-fixing scandal involving his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and some cricketers.
Meiyappan was found guilty of match-fixing and betting during IPL 2013 by the apex court-appointed committee, headed by former Punjab and Haryana chief justice Mudgal, probing corruption charges against team owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
Judges had said on Thursday that both sides should be barred from the eight-team tournament which is to start in Abu Dhabi on April 16.
                                                                          HZY

DHAKA: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said that fans are not being barred from flying the flags of foreign nations at stadiums during the World Twenty20.

    The BCB withdrew an earlier decision banning local fans from flying flags of other nations after intervention by the International Cricket Council (ICC).


   On Tuesday, the hosts of cricket's World Twenty20 threatened to ban local supporters from stadiums if they are seen carrying the flags of any of the other teams competing in the tournament.

   The order came after an outcry over images of locals waving Pakistani flags during the recently concluded Asia Cup, also held in Bangladesh.
Following the BCB announcement, the ICC sought a clarification from the cricket board. 

                                                                           HZY

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson today congratulated the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on winning the Laureus Sports Award in the ‘Spirit of Sport’ category.

“We have been aware of the inspiring rise of cricket in Afghanistan for some time, however, by receiving this prestigious award it is clear that the wider international sports community has now also recognized the significant, positive influence cricket is having in Afghanistan.

“Congratulations to the ACB on this outstanding achievement,” said Mr Richardson.

Afghanistan recently competed in the ICC World Twenty20, and has also qualified for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.  Afghanistan also receives a range of funding and assistance from the ICC’s Development Programme.

Here are key facts on the Muslim-majority nation.

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan s Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party faces a crucial test in local elections Sunday.
Here are key facts on the Muslim-majority nation that straddles Europe and Asia in a region close to the Middle East, Caucasus, Ukraine and Russia.

GEOGRAPHY: Covering about 780,000 square kilometres (300,000 square miles), Turkey is slightly smaller than Pakistan but larger than Chile or the US state of Texas.
It shares borders with Syria, Iran, Iraq and other countries. With a Black Sea coastline facing Russia, it has been a NATO frontline state for more than 60 years.

POPULATION: The Turkish Statistics Institute (TUIK) put the population at 75.6 million people in early 2013.

CAPITAL: Ankara, with a population of around five million people. Istanbul is the largest city and industrial and commercial hub with more than 15 million people.

RELIGION: Muslim (99 percent): of these, 80 percent Sunni, 20 percent Alevi. Armenians and Jews comprise the largest non-Muslim religious minorities.

RECENT HISTORY: The Republic of Turkey was created as a secular state in 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman empire at the end of World War I. Its founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was president until his death in 1938. His successor Ismet Inonu introduced multi-party democracy in 1946.
Turkey witnessed military coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980. In 1997, an army-led campaign forced the resignation of the country s first Islamist-led government.
Since 1984, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers  Party (PKK) has led an armed rebellion in the Kurdish-majority southeast that has claimed more than 40,000 lives, but there has been a de-facto ceasefire for the past year.

POLITICS: The Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), which describes itself as a conservative democratic movement, came to power in November 2002.
Its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan became prime minister in March 2003 and has ruled since. The AKP won nearly 50 percent of the vote in 2011 elections.
Abdullah Gul has been president since August 28, 2007.
In 2005, Turkey began European Union membership talks, but the process is at a standstill amid a row over Cyprus and opposition to the country s accession among EU members.

ECONOMY: Turkey is one of the most closely watched emerging market economies. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an annualised 4.4 percent in the third quarter of 2013, TUIK data showed. The World Bank expects it to expand by 3.5 percent this year.
The Turkish lira has fallen to around 2.18 lira to the dollar at present, in part owing to a general flow of funds out of emerging markets following a US decision to reduce its monetary stimulus programme.
The country has also run up a huge deficit on its external accounts to $65 billion last year, according to central bank figures, which undermines the currency as well.
Inflation stood at 7.48 percent in January, TUIK data shows, while the jobless rate was estimated at 9.3 percent in 2013 according to CIA World Factbook figures.

ARMED FORCES: A NATO member since 1952, Turkey has more than a half million men and women under arms, making it one of the biggest members of the alliance.
Since coming to power, Erdogan s government has reined in the powerful military, once the self-appointed guardians of the secular state.

Palestinian President made it clear that he will never recognise Israel as a Jewish state.


KUWAIT CITY, March 26, 2014 (AFP) - Arab leaders fully back a Palestinian refusal to recognise
 Israel as a Jewish state, a flashpoint issue which is threatening to derail the US-led peace talks, a final Arab summit statement said Wednesday.

"We express our total rejection of the call to consider Israel as a Jewish state," said the declaration, issued at the end of the two-day meeting in Kuwait City.

The Palestinians recognised Israel at the start of the peace process in the early 1990s, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted they now acknowledge it as the national homeland of the Jewish people, in a move which would effectively torpedo the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees
The Arab League had already rejected the demand, in a statement issued from its Cairo headquarters earlier this month.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is facing an uphill battle to keep peace talks on track beyond an April 29 deadline, with the negotiations waylaid over several key issues, including the question of recognition.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has made it clear that he will never recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
Netanyahu has placed the recognition dispute at the forefront of the talks, describing Arab rejection of the Jewish state as the "root of the conflict".
For the Palestinians, the issue is intimately entwined with the fate of their refugees who were forced out of their homes or fled in 1948 when Israel became a state. They see Netanyahu's demand as a way to sidestep a negotiated solution to the refugee question.

Miandad had also slammed Bangladesh for imposing ban on waving flags of rivals.

ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Former Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad has asked the players to develop winning spirit by reliving the 1992 world cup.
Former Great Javed Miandad urged to feel the heat of the 1992 World Cup saying the same spirit and confidence is needed in the team to triumph in the Twenty-20 CWC.
Miandad, who was also part of the 1992 WC victory, said he remembers in 1992 when the national team arrived back he heard people enchanting that this was the second victory in the history of the country after 1947 when it came into being.

“1992 WC is lesson for everybody and our national team should learn from it and play with the same spirit,” he said.

He warned the Pakistan team to keep in mind the run rates averages as it will matter a lot if Pakistan gets a tally with other teams on the table to move ahead in the tournament. 

“In 1992 Pakistan got lucky to move into the semi-finalsas in their final group match they were fortunate to scrape a point from the washed-out match against England eventually finishing one point ahead of Australia with an inferior run-rate,” he said.

Miandad said for victory Pakistan needs to keep its batting order consistent and advised the bowlers and fielders to stop runs.
Former cricketer Mohammad Yousuf believes the only teams which can trouble Pakistan are India and Sri Lanka.

“Pakistan are the favorites to win this event and the only teams I see can trouble Pakistan are India and Sri Lanka,” he said.

Yousuf said Bangladeshi pitches suit Asian sides a lot and there is a fair chance for any Asian team to win it.

          “Pakistan should stick to the basics and play positive cricket,” he said.

         Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar said Pakistan will make it to the semi-finals easily. 

“Pakistan defeated the tough Australia team and should win the remaining matches,” he said.

Shoaib said if Pakistan don’t play silly cricket, there should be no stopping them.

“The table is still wide open and Pakistan has a great chance,”he said.

Shoaib said he also doesn’t see India losing any matches, so they should be through as well.
 
“I am hopeful that India and Pakistan will meet in the final again,” he said.

Morsi was removed after just 12 months as president following mass street protests.


CAIRO (AFP) - A court in Egypt on Monday sentenced 529 supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to death after a mass trial, judicial sources said.
Islamist backers of Morsi are facing a deadly crackdown launched by the military-installed authorities since his ouster in July, with hundreds of people killed and thousands arrested.
The sentence was delivered in the second hearing of a trial which began on Saturday in Minya, south of the capital.
Of those sentenced, 153 are in detention and the rest are on the run, the sources said, adding that 17 others were acquitted. The verdict can be appealed.
Those sentenced are among more than 1,200 Morsi supporters on trial in Minya. A second group of about 700 defendants will be in the dock on Tuesday.
They are accused of attacking both people and public property in southern Egypt in August, after security forces broke up two Cairo protest camps set up by Morsi supporters on August 14.
They are also charged with committing acts of violence that led to the deaths of two policemen in Minya, judicial sources said.
The accused include several leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, including its supreme guide Mohamed Badie.
Morsi, Egypt's first elected and civilian president, was ousted by the army on July 3 in a move that triggered widespread unrest across the deeply polarised nation.
Hundreds of people died in the August assault on the two Cairo protest camps and in subsequent clashes that day.
Rights group Amnesty International says at least 1,400 people have been killed in violence across Egypt since then, and thousands more have been arrested.
Morsi is himself currently on trial in three different cases, including one for inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace while he was in office.
Morsi was removed after just 12 months as president following mass street protests against his rule amid allegations of power grabbing and worsening an already weak economy.

Mobile phone ownership has grown exponentially, even in poor remote villages.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Text messaging may be dying out as a means of communication in many parts of the advanced world, but it may yet prove to be a vital life-saver in flood-prone African villages.
An early-warning system that aims to capitalise on the explosive growth of mobile phone penetration in Africa could soon be in place to broadcast alerts to all users at risk from natural disasters such as flooding or hurricanes.
Millions of people in Africa have only limited access to television, radio or Internet but mobile phone ownership has grown exponentially, even in poor remote villages.
Now Spain's Nvia, a mobile phone company, has developed the Gooard project, a technology based on geo-targeted alerts that sends text messages to a specific geographical area.
A network of satellites and weather stations will detect the threat and send a text to villagers within 15 minutes, hopefully allowing time for evacuation.

      "The technology is able to identify all the active cellphones in a certain area, such as a shopping mall, a village, or a park, and send messages straight to the terminal without any previous subscription," Alberto Perez, Nvia's Africa manager, told AFP.

       "With the same system, we can also send vital information to people about natural disasters that can save their lives and minimise damages".

 The technology is already in use in other parts of the world for promotional purposes -- bombarding consumers in a specific shopping mall with a special offer for example.



And even in remote areas of Africa, mobile phone communications can reach the parts other systems can't reach.
The International Communications Union (ITU) estimates that mobile phone penetration has risen to around 63 percent on the continent -- and much higher in South Africa.

      "In Africa, especially in poor settlements, the population has limited access to Internet, radio or television, but everybody has a mobile phone. That's why the platform can be so useful in the continent," said Perez.

After years of research, the scheme is already fully operational in Europe and is expected to be rolled out in Kenya by the end of the year.

    It is expected to work in partnership with local mobile networks such as Airtel, Vodafone, Orange, MTN and Cell-C.

  Speaking to AFP from his Johannesburg office, Perez pledged that the service would be free for the population but declined to comment on how much it could cost for governments or how it would be sponsored.

"It is an expensive service, but governments know that it can be vital for its population, and it can also save a lot of money in emergency relief," he said.

    South Africa's environmental affairs department and the national secret services agency have shown interest in the project, and Nvia is preparing to formally showcase it to the government, added Perez.
Heavy rains killed 32 people in South Africa in the first two weeks of March, in record downpours that weather experts say were the worst in more than a decade.
Natural disasters in Africa accounted for just under a third of worldwide victims, with around 38 million people affected in 2012, according to the Catholic University of Louvain's last Annual Disaster Statistical Review.
Natural disasters in Africa caused $803 million in damage, the Belgian university estimated.

India is also the most powerful country in world cricket due to its vast television audience.

     NEW DELHI (AFP) - India s Supreme Court Tuesday urged the powerful head of the country s cricket board to stand down while an investigation is conducted into illegal betting, saying his refusal to quit so far was "nauseating".

A two-judge panel warned it could order N. Srinivasan, regarded as the most powerful man in world cricket, to stand down unless he did so voluntarily as his continued presence in his post was hampering the investigation which involves his son-in-law.

  "Unless the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) president stands down, there can be no fair investigation. It s nauseating," Justice A.K. Patnaik told the court in New Delhi.
"Why is Srinivasan sticking to his chair? If you don t step down, then we will pass an order," he added.

    The bench is looking at a damning report that it commissioned last year into wrongdoing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) following a betting and spot-fixing scandal that rocked the domestic Twenty20 tournament.
The report, released in February, concluded that Srinivasan s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan could be guilty of illegal betting on IPL games, in a major blow to Srinivasan who is due to take over as head of the International Cricket Council in July.
India is also the most powerful country in world cricket due to its vast television audience which enables the board to generate almost 70 percent of the game s revenues.
Meiyappan was the team principal of Chennai Super Kings, an IPL franchise owned by Srinivasan s India Cements company and captained by national skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The report, by a panel headed by retired judge Mukul Mudgal, suggested that Meiyappan may have passed on team information to outsiders for illegal betting, but did not specify what information or to whom.



"There are no definite findings by the Mudgal committee but the allegations are of a very serious nature," Patnaik told the court.

"Whether the BCCI will act on the findings of the probe panel is a big, big question," he added.

   The judge asked the BCCI s lawyers to go away and read a sealed section of the report which has not been made public and return on Thursday when the case will continue.
There was no immediate reaction available from Srinivasan or the BCCI on Tuesday, although he was quoted as saying by the NDTV network that he would "study" the court order.
An ICC spokesman said the world governing body "has no comment to offer at this stage".

  "It is an internal matter of the BCCI," the spokesman told AFP in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on the sidelines of the ongoing World Twenty20 tournament.

     Srinivasan, who has not himself been accused of any wrongdoing, stepped aside temporarily as BCCI president in June last year when Meiyappan was first named in connection with the scandal.
But after effectively resuming day-to-day control of the board, he then won elections for a third term in September.
Meiyappan and others have also been the target of a separate police investigation which has resulted in charges of forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of contract and handing critical team information to alleged bookmakers.
The IPL has been hit by several scandals in recent years, including allegations of spot-fixing during last year s tournament.
Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was subsequently banned from cricket for life after being found guilty of deliberately bowling badly in return for thousands of dollars from bookmakers.
Ankeet Chavan, a teammate of Sreesanth s in the Rajasthan Royals team, was also handed a life ban following a probe by the BCCI s anti-corruption chief Ravi Sawani.
International news organisations, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), have suspended their on-field coverage of matches hosted by the BCCI since 2012 after the board imposed restrictions on picture agencies.

KUWAIT CITY: Saudi Arabia´s crown prince said Tuesday the international community has "betrayed" Syrian rebels by failing to arm them against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

         





   "The legitimate Syrian resistance has been betrayed by the international community and left easy prey to tyrant forces," Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz told the Arab summit in Kuwait City.

He was referring to unkept promises by several nations to arm fighters battling to topple the Assad government, which is backed by Russia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia is one of the main backers of the rebellion against Assad that erupted three years ago and has become a full-fledged civil war after loyalists launched a crackdown against protesters seeking democratic reforms.

           "Syria has become a (battle) field open to killings and destruction carried out by an iniquitous regime with the participation of foreigners and armed terrorists who come from everywhere," said the crown prince.

   He also called on the Arab League to speed up the handover of Syria´s seat in the 22-member organisation to the opposition National Coalition, in order to give it formal status that could cement its recognition by world powers.

         "This must be sorted out... in order to send a strong message to the international community so that it will change its attitude towards Syria," said the crown prince about the seat.
The seat -- vacated after the Arab League suspended Syria´s membership over the conflict -- was promised to the opposition at last summit in Doha.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said the opposition must meet certain legal requirements before taking over the seat. As a result National Coalition chief Ahmed Jarba addressed the summit in Kuwait City Monday but was not allowed to speak from the spot reserved for Syria.
                                                                                     HZY

US Secretary of State John Kerry said this in a meeting with PM Nawaz Sharif in The Hague on Monday.

THE HAGUE (Web Desk) - United States has expressed satisfaction over arrangements of Pakistan s nuclear security.
This was stated by the US Secretary of State John Kerry in a meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of Third International Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague on Monday.
Both the leaders discussed bilateral relations and the scheduled withdrawal of ISAF forces from Afghanistan by the end of this year.
John Kerry said United States and Pakistan are working together to root-out terrorism from the region. He said US is also cooperating with Pakistan to curb to overcome its energy crisis as US wants a viable and prosperous Pakistani nation.
Kerry said Pakistan-US working group on nuclear proliferation is working and strategic dialogue between the two countries are continuing.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif termed the meeting positive and constructive. He said the government is trying to resolve all issues being faced by the country. He said both the countries have been reviewing the decisions taken in the meeting between him and President Obama.
The PM is representing Pakistan in the third International Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague. The conference will focus peaceful use of nuclear technology and protecting nuclear weapons from terrorists.
Prime Minister d Nawaz Sharif would highlight security measures taken by Pakistan to protect nuclear installations, and plans to use the technology for development purposes.
The PM would  also stress for provision of civil nuclear technology to Pakistan for overcoming energy crisis.
The Summit is being attended by 58 world leaders including US President Barrack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Mekel.

DHAKA: After surrendering tamely against India in their World Twenty20 opener on Friday, Pakistan would be looking to bounce back with a vengeance against Australia on Sunday (today) in a bid to stay on course for a place in the semi-finals.
And they intend to use their potent spin attack to conquer the formidable Aussies.
The influence of spin in the potentially explosive clash is on everyone’s lips.
Moin Khan, the Pakistan coach, has expressed confidence in his team’s spinners while Australia captain George Bailey has conceded it’s going to be a challenge for their batsmen.
Saeed Ajmal has the most wickets for a spinner against Australia. Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez have done well in the past and Zulfiqar Babar is also likely to get a look in if Pakistan think of playing three specialist spinners. “Well, they can be [susceptible against spin], but of course they’ve been playing really good cricket for a very long time,” Moin said. “But I still believe in my spinners. I think we’re capable to get them.
“We have lots of options in the team. We didn’t bowl Shoaib Malik [against India], but we’ve got the option there. We have good spinners with us, so we’ll see. It depends on the type of pitch we get in the next match. So we’ll definitely do according to the opposition.”
Bailey is well aware of the threat, and wants his batsmen to stand up to the challenge of playing in conditions suitable and familiar to their opposition.
“We went through the Pakistan team in our meeting last night, and there are so many match-winners,” he said. “I think historically we have struggled against their spinners. If we are to win, we have to play their spinners well.
“I think we have seen most of them now, in different times. What you do is talk about experiences from the past and try to make it better. They have three spinners among the top ten in T20s so they are a very strong spin side. The conditions can be challenging for us, but we have a strong batting line-up that can overcome that.”
Brad Hodge is the only player from the current squad who has played in Bangladesh in the last year or so and the team took to television footage to arm themselves for the upcoming battle. They watched Pakistan’s opening match in the World T20 and noted how India’s Amit Mishra used a bit of drift and dip to restrict and dupe the batsmen, and how Ajmal maintained accuracy while bowling quicker.
“I think most of the guys watched it in the hotel last night,” Bailey said. “It was a great chance to see how India and Pakistan played. There was a lot of information to be gathered. Most guys took the opportunity.”
“Hodge has been great for us. He has given us a lot of information on how the wicket might play here and how it changes from day to night; also about players that we haven’t seen.”
Bailey would bank on the team’s variety, particularly in their own bowling attack. Australia have called up, 43-year old left-arm chinaman Brad Hogg, who will be assisted by legspinner James Muirhead and part-timer Glenn Maxwell.
“I think we have a little more versatility, in terms of what we can do with the ball,” Bailey said. “I think we have a little more power with the bat. These are the two differences [between this squad and the one that played in the 2012 World T20s].”
Moin would like to see Pakistan, already one-down in the tournament, to fight harder against an upbeat Australian side. “We’ve already lost one match but I still believe in the abilities of my team. We have to come back really hard and go do something resilient, otherwise it’s definitely going to be a very difficult match because their attitude is very good. We have to fight it out.”
Australia, already missing premier fast bowler Mitchell Johnson due to a toe infection, will also be without all-rounder James Faulkner for the opening match.
Bailey said Faulkner, a hard-hitting right-hand batsman and left-arm seamer, had still not recovered from the knee injury that forced him to miss the recent tour of South Africa. “We will just monitor him,” the captain said. “He is an important player. He has certainly played a huge role for Australian sides in the T20 and one-day formats.”
Australia, who have won the 50-over World Cup four times and are a leading Test side, have made the final of the World Twenty20 just once in four attempts, losing the title to England in 2010. Bailey said the current squad was different from previous ones, but needed to be consistent to win a maiden T20 title.
Bailey said it was important to start with a win in the group which also includes defending champions the West Indies, India and hosts Bangladesh. “In a tournament like this, momentum is really important,” he said. “Starting with a win gets you off and running and I don’t think you can afford to drop many games. The more wins the better.”

             The claims soared to 56,400 in 2013 from 25,200 such applications a year earlier and 8,500 in 2011.

         GENEVA (AFP) - The number of Syrians seeking asylum in developed countries more than doubled last year from 2012 and was six times higher than at the start of its bloody civil war in 2011, the UN said on Friday.
Syrian asylum claims in 44 industrialised countries soared to 56,400 in 2013 from 25,200 such applications a year earlier and 8,500 in 2011, the UN s refugee agency said in a report.

"There is clear evidence in these numbers of how the Syria crisis in particular is affecting countries and regions of the world far removed from the Middle East," UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

      Syrians made up a full 9.4 percent of the total 612,700 people who sought asylum last year in 38 European countries, as well as eight countries in North America, East Asia and the Pacific, according to the agency s annual report on global asylum trends.
Afghanistan, which in recent years has produced the most asylum seekers, was bumped to third place in 2013, with Russia taking a surprising second, after coming in sixth last year.
UNHCR did not have a breakdown of which parts of Russian society the 38,699 people seeking asylum abroad -- mainly in Germany and Poland -- came from.
But "there are indications that they are mostly Chechens," Volker Turk, the UNHCR s head of international protection, told reporters.
The overall number of asylum seekers to industrialised countries last year was 28 percent higher than in 2012 and marked the highest total of any year since 2001, Turk said.
Numbers were meanwhile far higher during the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, exceeding 800,000 in 1992.
-  Shadow side of humanity  -
Turk stressed that the 2013 hike in asylum applications were "a manifestation of the shadow side of humanity (and) of what is actually going wrong in the world."
Among the 10 countries producing the most asylum seekers, six are currently experiencing violence or conflict: Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan.
While the conflicts are mostly happening far from the borders of the developed countries, "we see these ripple effects like waves on the ocean," Turk said.
Germany was the single largest recipient of asylum applications last year, tallying 109,600 in total, 11,900 of them from Syria.
France counted 60,100, while Sweden received 54,300, including 16,300 Syrians.
The United States and Canada together received 98,800 asylum applications, mainly from Chinese citizens. Just over 2,000 were from Syrians.
The doubling of Syrian asylum seekers in industrialised countries may be staggering, but the numbers pale in comparison to the more than 2.6 million Syrian refugees camped out in neighbouring countries, with nearly one million Syrians in tiny Lebanon alone.
More than three years into the Syrian civil war that has killed more than 146,000 people, Jordan has also taken in some 584,000 Syrian refugees and there are some 226,000 in Iraq, according to UN figures.
Turkey meanwhile is housing nearly 641,000 Syrian refugees that have poured across its borders, and also received 44,000 individual asylum applications last year, making it by far Europe s largest host country.
Syria s neighbours "really need solidarity from the international community," Turk said.
People fleeing conflict tend to have a far greater chance of receiving asylum, with 95 percent of Syrians on average offered protection in the countries they arrive in.
Acceptance rates are far lower for Russians, who are granted asylum in only 28 percent of cases, while only five percent of applications from Serbs and Kosovars are now being granted, according to the UNHCR report.
                                             HZY

           
              MIRPUR: Australia captain George Bailey said Saturday he is confident of a good showing at the World Twenty20 but is nonetheless concerned about facing Pakistan´s renowned spin attack in his team´s first match on Sunday. "They´ve got three spinners in the top 10 in T20 cricket," Bailey said, referring to the spin trio of Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and captain Mohammad Hafeez. "They´re a very, very strong spinning side and the conditions can be challenging for us over here. But I think we´ve certainly got a strong batting line-up at the moment that hopefully can overcome them."

                        Australia has a robust batting lineup with David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson and Brad Hodge, all potential match-winners in the 20-over format.

            Bailey said he also feels this team is better than the one that played in the last World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka two years ago, despite the absence of Mitchell Johnson and left-arm pace bowler James Faulkner being ruled out of the match against Pakistan due to a knee injury.
           "In comparison to the last T20, we have more versatility with the ball and are a bit more powerful with the bat. A lot of our players have played in India. I don´t think conditions will be much different here," Bailey said.

           Bailey said his team has seen most of the Pakistani cricketers play in recent years and knows what to expect. 
                "I think spin plays a huge role in T20, wherever it´s played in the world. It tends to go one of two ways but certainly in these conditions, it tends to be match-winning. It´s a challenge. We know we are going to face lots of spin, we know we are probably going to bowl a lot of spin," he said.
Bailey said that although Pakistan lost to archrival India on Friday, the squad at least had the chance to see the conditions on the pitch and make adjustments before facing Australia.
India coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket victory, with legspinner Amit Mishra bagging 2-22

                                                                   HZY

FACTS REGARDING BERMUDA TRIANGLE...


•Located in the Atlantic Ocean, the Bermuda Triangle falls between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Florida.

•The Bermuda Triangle has long been believed to be the site where a number of mysterious plane and boat incidents have occurred.

•While it has become part of popular culture to link the Bermuda Triangle to paranormal activity, most investigations indicate bad weather and human error are the more likely culprits.

•Research has suggested that many original reports of strange incidents in the Bermuda Triangle were exaggerated and that the actual number of incidents in the area is similar to that of other parts of the ocean
                                                         HZY

      MIRPUR, Bangladesh: Traditional rivals India and Pakistan kick-start the Super 10 stage of the World Twenty20 today (Friday) at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

         Grouped along with defending champions, the West Indies, powerful Australia and a qualifier from Group A of the ongoing preliminary stage, the two teams know it is only the beginning of a testing league competition in the tough Group 2.

Skipper Mohammad Hafeez said his team would take inspiration from a recent victory in the Asia Cup against India but conceded that MS Dhoni’s return would bolster the Indian team.
“Dhoni’s leadership is a key factor as he has done well over the past five-six years,” Hafeez said.  

“They’re a good batting side but having played in Bangladesh during the recent Asia Cup we have prepared well.”
Hafeez said he was not worried about statistics concerning the teams and that this was not necessarily the all-important game fans on either side of the border make it out to be.
“This is not the whole tournament. We have to do well as it is important to strike a good rhythm for the other matches ahead,” he said.
Pakistan have never beaten India in five meetings in the World Cup and three in the World Twenty20. Pakistan have also won only one of five T20s against India.
But Dhoni said on Thursday that records don’t matter. “A lot of people talk about that (results in ICC world events) but everything depends on what we do on the field,” the Indian captain said on the eve of the high-profile game. “In fact, the gap between teams is very narrow and the smaller sides too have the talent to upset top sides in this format.”
    India look a little vulnerable with Dhoni missing the recent 50-over Asia Cup in which they lost to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Dhoni said it is only a matter of getting some things right in time.
“Our bowling is an area of concern and we also need to get good starts with our batting. If we have wickets in hand, we are always capable of scoring some 10-15 runs above par,” Dhoni said.

The Indian spinners will have to make up for an inexperienced pace attack and it could well be a contest between India’s batting lineup, which has the likes of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni, and Pakistan’s bowling, which boasts of pace bowler Umar Gul and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal among others.
“They have some very good bowlers like Gul and Ajmal. They also have some good allrounders which makes things difficult for any opposition,” Dhoni said in reference to Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez.

India have played only one Twenty20 International since December 2012 but Dhoni said he was relying on the experience of the cash-rich Indian Premier League for his team.


“Our players have the experience of the IPL and also of the conditions here,” said Dhoni, arguably the most successful captain in limited-overs cricket, having led his team to victory in the 2007 World T20, 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
                                                        HZY

    
In a few years, you may never have to worry about manually charging your cell phone or paying for gasoline again.    

         Wireless electricity is not a new concept - it was publicly demonstrated over 100 years ago by Nikola Tesla - but has remained elusive in broad commercial applications.
However, a startup company says they are working to change that, with a business model that could make portable power commonplace.

"We're going to transfer power without any kind of wires," Dr. Katie Hall, chief technology officer of WiTricity, told CNN. "I can't even imagine how things will change when we live like that."
           WiTricity CEO Eric Giler demonstrated the company's technology during a TED talk, in which he explained, "This all came from a professor waking up at night to the third night in a row that his wife's cell phone was beeping because it was running out of battery power. And he was thinking, 'With all of the electricity that's out there in the walls, why couldn't some of that just come into the phone so I could get some sleep?'"
A team of MIT professors then developed what they call "resonant power transfer," in which a power coil is able to wirelessly transfer electricity to another device containing a similar coil set to the same frequency.
The MIT group was first able to demonstrate the technique in 2007, which led to the formation of WiTricity. Since then, the company has conducted several public demonstrations, where they have used the technology to wirelessly power objects such as batteries, LED lights and cell phones.
"We're not actually putting electricity in the air. What we're doing is putting a magnetic field in the air," Hall told CNN. "When you bring a device into that magnetic field, it induces a current in the device, and by that you're able to transfer power."
Wireless electricity is widely considered to be safe, but WiTricity and other companies developing similar technology are still trying to find effective ways to efficiently transfer electricity over longer distances.
                                                                            HZY

Peace talks venue to be finalised today: Maulana Sami

 

MULTAN: Jamiat Ulema e Islam-Sami (JUI-S) Chief Maulna Samiul Haq has said that the government and the Taliban would finalise the venue where peace talks would take place.
Addressing a conference here Thursday, Maulana Sami ul Haq said that both committees are likely to meet tomorrow.
“All those people who are demanding military operation against the Taliban are enemies of the country,” he said.
If the government announced to quit the American war or terror, peace would be restored immediately in the country, he added.                                                             HZY

Imran khan shares his views on Pakistan vs india T20 match on 19 th march 2014.

     He has put quite of faith in Shahid Afridi to scor big runs and take some wickets for the team.Also, he thinks Irfan has a lot of potential in coming years if he is brought back to the team and is given proper training on taking wickets.
 To whach complete video click on the following link

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1idbro_imran-khan-on-pak-india-19th-march-2014-in-capital-talk_news
                                                            HZY

DHAKA (Reuters) Pakistani cricket captain Mohammad Hafeez, Afridi said that maybe are not 100 % fit but are excited to participate in the T20 World Cup .Talking to the media in Dhaka national skipper Mohammad Hafeez, Afridi said that maybe are not 100 % fit but are excited to participate in the T20 World Cup . Mohammad Hafeez, adding that El raundrz performance is better . Event Fast bowlers will be crucial . , Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that it does not matter that the Pakistan T20 cricket in India could not win even once , it is a new match will show in this strong performer . clear the TV Cricket World Cup in Pakistan and India are competing tomorrow .
                                                                  HZY

Evidence spotted for universe’s early growth spurt

        NEW YORK: US researchers say they have spotted evidence that a split-second after the Big Bang, the newly formed universe ballooned out at a pace so astonishing that it left behind ripples in the fabric of the cosmos.

           If confirmed, experts said, the discovery would be a major advance in the understanding of the early universe. Although many scientists already believed that an initial, extremely rapid growth spurt happened, they have long sought the evidence cited in the new study.
Researchers reported Monday that they found it by peering into the faint light that remains from the Big Bang of nearly 14 billion years ago.
The discovery "gives us a window on the universe at the very beginning," when it was far less than one-trillionth of a second old, said theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University, who was not involved in the work.
"It´s just amazing," he said. "You can see back to the beginning of time."
Marc Kamionkowski, a theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins University who didn´t participate in the research, used a common baseball analogy, saying the finding is "not just a home run. It´s a grand slam."
He and other experts said the results must be confirmed by other observations, a standard caveat in science.
Right after the Big Bang, the universe was a hot soup of particles. It took about 380,000 years to cool enough that the particles could form atoms, then stars and galaxies. Billions of years later, planets formed from gas and dust that were orbiting stars.
The universe has continued to spread out.
Krauss said he thinks the new results could rank among the greatest discoveries in astrophysics over the last 25 years, such as the Nobel prize-winning discovery that the universe´s expansion is accelerating.
The results were announced by a collaboration that included researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the University of Minnesota, Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology and NASA´s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The team plans to submit its results to a scientific journal this week, said its leader, John Kovac of Harvard.
Astronomers scanned about 2 percent of the sky for three years with a telescope at the South Pole, where the air is exceptionally dry.
They were looking for a specific pattern in light waves within the faint microwave glow left over from the Big Bang. The pattern has long been considered evidence of rapid growth, known as inflation. Kovac called it "the smoking-gun signature of inflation.
"The reported detection suggests that "inflation has sent us a telegram," Kamionkowski said.
The researchers say the light-wave pattern was caused by gravitational waves, which are ripples in space and time. If verified, the new work would be the first detection of such waves from the birth of the universe, which have been called the first tremors of the Big Bang.
Arizona State´s Krauss cautioned that the light-wave pattern might not be a sign of inflation, although he stressed that it´s "extremely likely" that it is. It´s "our best hope" for a direct test of whether the rapid growth spurt happened, he said.
Alan Guth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a creator of the idea of inflation, said the finding already suggests that some ideas about the rapid expansion of the universe can be ruled out.
It had not been clear whether the light-wave pattern would be detectable even if inflation really happened, he said, but luckily "nature is cooperating with us, laying out its cards in a way that we can see them." 
                                                             HZY